Horizon Europe webinar: what Australia’s association means for business

The Netherlands Chamber of Commerce Australia co-hosted a webinar on Monday 12 October with the wider network of Dutch Chambers of Commerce Australia and the European Australian Business Council (EABC), exploring what Australia’s association with Horizon Europe means for local businesses and researchers.

From 1 January 2027, Australian organisations will be able to receive funding from Horizon Europe, the world’s largest research and innovation program. Until now, Australian participants could contribute to Horizon Europe projects but could not be funded through them. The webinar explained what changes, who can take part and how to approach a first bid.

Hosted by Nicoline van Cann, the session featured Jason Collins, CEO of the EABC, who set out the strategic context, and Dr Jacqueline Clements, CEO of DutchLink, who walked through the practicalities of participation.

Part of a bigger package

Jason opened by placing the association within a broader reset of the Australia-Europe relationship. It was one of the landmark outcomes of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s visit to Australia earlier this year, alongside the conclusion of free trade agreement negotiations and a new security and defence partnership. Federal Industry Minister Tim Ayres is expected to meet his European counterpart soon to finalise the Horizon Europe agreement.

He argued that seeing the association purely as research funding misses the bigger story. Australia and Europe face similar questions on productivity, research commercialisation and industrial capability, as well as the energy transition. Supply chain resilience has also moved up the agenda, particularly as some countries have shown a willingness to use supply dependencies, such as rare earths, as political leverage.

Europe consistently ranks among the world’s most innovative economies, which Jason attributed to strong institutional frameworks and deep collaboration between industry and research. Australia has traditionally struggled to build that depth of collaboration, and Horizon Europe offers a direct route into those networks.

What Australia brings

The partnership is designed to run both ways. Jason pointed to Australia’s globally recognised capabilities in critical minerals and resources, medical research and life sciences, quantum and other emerging technologies, and clean energy. He singled out rooftop solar as an area where Australia leads and where many European jurisdictions are looking for lessons.

European companies are also already embedded across the Australian economy, from energy and engineering to banking and pharmaceuticals, and many develop IP and conduct research here. Better connecting those companies with Australian researchers could deliver significant gains for both sides.

Jason linked the association to domestic policy, including the Future Made in Australia agenda and the $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund. He cautioned that efforts to rebuild sovereign capability should not slide into protectionism, whether in Europe through its Industrial Accelerator Act or in Australia through public procurement reviews. Instead, he made the case for “friendshoring”, which means diversifying supply chains by working with trusted partners.

The program reaches further than its name suggests. Beyond the 27 EU member states, associated countries include Canada, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, Ukraine and the United Kingdom, among others.

How Pillar 2 works

Jacqueline explained that Horizon Europe is structured around three pillars. Pillar 1 focuses on excellent science and is already familiar to many Australian universities. Pillar 3, through the European Innovation Council, can fund startups with up to €2.5 million for proof of concept and up to €12 million in investment, although that eventually requires relocating to Europe.

Australia’s association centres on Pillar 2, a highly collaborative stream worth more than €20 billion, with a further €500 million announced on 29 September. It is built around six global challenge clusters: health; culture, creativity and inclusive society; civil security for society; digital, industry and space; climate, energy and mobility; and food, bioeconomy, natural resources, agriculture and environment.

Any Australian legal entity can take part, including universities, research organisations, SMEs, startups and nonprofits. Size is not a deciding factor, and the program has a strong focus on widening participation.

Jacqueline stressed that Pillar 2 is closer to a tender than a traditional grant. Organisations respond to tightly defined topics published on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal, and each call ID shows its cluster, budget year, destination and topic number. Australian organisations can only receive funding from calls with 2027 in the title. Her advice was to focus on calls marked “forthcoming”, because preparing a competitive proposal takes considerable time. Deadlines are set in Brussels time.

Funding and proposals

For businesses, the most relevant stream is likely to be innovation actions, which fund testing, piloting and demonstration at roughly technology readiness levels 4 to 7. Research and innovation actions cover earlier-stage work and suit universities and research-heavy startups.

Nonprofits are funded at 100% of eligible costs and for-profit organisations at 70%, plus a 25% overhead allowance. Funding is paid as a lump sum against agreed milestones, so partners do not need to submit receipts.

Every bid requires a consortium of at least three independent legal entities from three eligible countries, including at least one EU member state. In practice, consortia typically include between 3 and 20 organisations. Some calls favour partners from Ukraine, lower-income countries or a wider geographic spread.

Proposals have two parts. Part A covers organisational details, budgets and key personnel, while Part B is a written proposal of up to 45 pages. Reviewers score it equally on excellence, impact and quality of implementation, with impact used as the tiebreaker.

Competition is strong. Many projects start at around €4 million, and a call worth tens of millions may fund only a handful of proposals. Awards typically take four to six months, and funded projects can run for two to three years after the calls close.

Questions from the floor

The Q&A focused largely on smaller businesses. One attendee, who runs a climate resilience SME, asked whether participation would mean months of administration and whether larger partners would see value in working with a small company.

Jacqueline said SMEs with specialist knowledge are valued consortium partners, whether they run pilots or contribute Australian expertise. She also noted upcoming 2027 calls on waterways and maritime themes. Because Australia is newly associated, its organisations bring the kind of fresh perspective that can strengthen a bid. Partners who do not lead a consortium manage only their own budget and milestones, with the lead organisation responsible for technical delivery and reporting.

Australian organisations can lead consortia, but experience improves the chances of success. New Zealand has not yet led a project in three years of association, which is why experienced universities and European organisations often take the lead.

Another attendee asked what happens if a partner withdraws. Consortium members are collectively responsible for delivery, so the consortium must find a replacement. That makes choosing reliable partners essential, and Jacqueline advised starting with people you already know and trust. LinkedIn, EU business and expertise networks and CORDIS, the EU database of previously funded projects, can also help.

Both speakers acknowledged that the system is complex. Jason noted, however, that Australian funding programs are just as complex, so anyone who has applied for them already knows how to work through that complexity.

Looking beyond 2027

Australia has committed to the final year of the current program only. Jason said stakeholders fully expect the association to continue into the next framework program, but early success in 2027 will be important in making that case. Joining now also puts Australia in a stronger position than waiting for the next program to begin.

He added that the free trade agreement still needs approval from both the European Parliament and the Australian Parliament, and encouraged attendees to help counter negative coverage of the deal.

Thank you

The NCCA thanks Jason Collins, Dr Jacqueline Clements and Nicoline van Cann, and everyone who joined.